Hope with Friends
by Lightning8910
Summary: Hope and Light's time with his childhood friends. First story I made. I "Hope" you enjoy. May contain plot/story ending.
1. Vital Injuries

"Okay, Kai. This may hurt. A lot. I don't know." I say to nervously. The enormity of what I'm going to do still shocks me. I'm worried about what PSICOM would do if they find out about Kai and Elida. Actually, I know what they would do. Ship 'em off to Pulse or kill them right here. Either way, hanging out with a Pulse l'Cie isn't good. I can already hear the Behemoths and Pantherons in the forest.

But, looking at Kai bleeding on the ground, I know magic is the only way to save his life. For once I'm happy to be made a l'Cie. But, after what happens tonight, I might be short of the two friends I've ever had. All thanks to the Fal'cie. It's because of PSICOM, because of me this happened. All because I decided to help my two friends get to the Cavalry. A Beta Behemoth was the one who had grievously injured Kai. I still can't believe a Beta Behemoth did that to him. I mean, I could take it out with one hit! But, I have to remind myself of what I was like before being made a l'Cie. I was a scared, and dependent on,_Mom_. Oh, I miss her, I snap myself out of it. Operation Nora is over. Looking at Light I stifle a laugh. It's obvious she can't believe anyone could be hurt so badly by any kind of Behemoth, whether it be Beta, Feral or Alpha.

"Hope!" Elida says sharply,"I thought you said you were going to help Kai. He just said he was ready!" Elida stamped her feet, impatient as always.

"Yeah, just a sec, I have to get ready."

"We'll be quick about it I'm dying over here!" Kai said weakly.

Hope remembered when Kai first met Lightning. The first thing he noticed was her gunblade. " Wow! That's a Blazefire Saber! They only give those to the highest ranked officers!" he had said enthusiastically. Now he lay in a puddle of his own blood.

I get up and went to the forest, out of their sight. Lightning follows me. When we get there she tells me I have to tell them the truth. If not, PSICOM will tell them and it'll be a hundred times worse. I say to her "I know I remember last night." We had had the same conversation, except a lot longer. I say to her "I just came to summon Alexander, so he can put up a wall. So when they run they're safe." She nods appreciatively. "Now you're thinking."

I tell her, "Go back, so they don't think anything's up. She nods and spins around. When she's gone, I reach for the crystal that summons Alexander. I tell him to enclose the area. As usual the pillars come and he attaches them. I wonder how Elida and Kai can't hear the echo. I'm pretty sure all of Palumpolum can and we're in the Gapra Whitewood.

I return to find Kai looking worse than ever. I pull up my hanchercheif that covers my brand.


	2. Revealence

I say "Brace yourself. I don't know how much this will hurt. I've never tried it on a... human before. I whisper the last words softly. Elida looks confused.

"What do you mean you've never tried it on a human before. Aren't you human?"

"You'll see." is all I can say. I brace myself as if waiting for a hit that will never come. I put my right hand, the one with the brand over his wound. I can feel myself shift into the role I was born to do, heal. I let the energy out and the usual blue light emerges.

I hear Elida whisper "magic?" and Kai's audible sigh of relief.

All of us stared at the gaping wound that closing up on Kai's chest. For me it more so making sure that it was closing properly, rather than awe. I let out an involuntary sigh of relief. I had hoped it would work on regular humans. New thing I learned about being a l'Cie.

Kai and Elida kept staring, openmouthed, at Kai's chest and me. I kept waiting for the scream that never came. What happened next was much worse.

"Your a l'Cie." Elida said openmouthed. I braced myself

"Awesome! A Sanctum l'Cie! You're like the ultimate weapon! You can use magic? What's it like? Ooh! What's your Focus? Kill the evil Pulse l'cie? Ooh I bet that's it isn't it? Is Lightning a l'Cie too? Oh man this is so awesome! My best friend's a Sanctum l'Cie! Which Fal'cie did it? Let me guess... Ooh, I bet it was Eden wasn't it? I be-" I interrupted Kai by raising my hand. Curse the Maker! They didn't scream, they didn't run, they thought I was Sanctum! That was even worse.

"Can I see your brand," Elida asked.

Of course! My brand! My _Pulse _brand. That would be the easiest way to tell them without actually telling them. I looked at Lightning for guidance. She nods, looking sad.

"If you don't want to you don't have to," Elida said quietly.

"No! No! Here, look." I pulled my hanchercheif down, revealing my brand. My Pulse brand. The brand that took everything away from me. The brand that would make me lose my best friends. The brand that ruined my life.


	3. The Pulse l'Cie

Elida and Kai's looks of ecstasy turned into looks of horror.

Elida said slowly,"That's not a Sanctum brand. That's a..a.. Pulse brand. You're a Pulse l'Cie."

I say, "My name is Hope Estheim. I am a Pulse l'Cie branded by the fal'Cie Anima, that once resided in the Bodhum Vestige. During the Purge, my mother, Nora Estheim died, at the hands of the NORA leader, Snow Villiers. He went into the Vestige and I followed, looking for revenge. Inside I learned that he was there to save his fiancé, a Pulse l'Cie named Serah Farron." I heard Elida gasp murmuring that that was Lightning's last name. There was no stopping now. I continued, "Shortly after finding her we watched her turn into crystal after telling us to save Cocoon. Me and Lightning joined together in the Vile Peaks. After trying to abandon me, her eidolon, Odin appeared and tried to kill me. She saved my life," before I could finish Elida and Kai had run. There it was.

Already, Lightning had the crystal housing the eidolon, Odin.

"I'll search on Odin. You search on foot. Don't worry, if I do find them before you I'll send out a beacon. I won't scare them."

I nod.

I start searching.

About half an hour later I find two tracks. I sigh. Of course they went into the monster infested part of the forest.

Another 15 minutes and I had caught up with them.

"Get away from us you monster!" Elida said, banging on the wall that was Alexander. Only time the l'Cie terror had been this bad was in Palumpolum.

"That wall's not going to budge ya' know," I told them.

She stopped banging on the wall. "Where did it come from then?" she asked me.

I smile and reply,"Me. The all powerful l'Cie of Pulse. I will kill you all!" I probably shouldn't have done that, but, the look on their faces was worth it.

"You monster," they reply,"We should-"

I interrupt them by crackin' up. I just can't help it! Their faces turn from terror to confusion.

"Wait, you aren't going to kill us?" Kai says, obviously confused, "You are a Pulse l'Cie aren't you?"

I begin but am cut off by the sound of a havoc skytank.

I curse PSICOM under my breath.


	4. Confusion

"Wait, you aren't going to kill us?" Kai says, obviously confused, "You are a Pulse l'Cie aren't you?"

I begin but am cut off by the sound of a havoc skytank.

I curse PSICOM under my breath.

"Come on," I shout, followed by "See ya' big guy!"

Alexander disappears and me, Kai and Elida are running towards a cave. I release a beacon into the air informing Lightning of were we are.

Kai and Elida's mouths are still glued to the floor. A smirk escapes me. Oh, their faces!

When Lightning finally reached us Kai and Elida have shrunk away to the back of the cave. I see her dismiss Odin before coming in. She takes a look at my two friends and lets out an uncharacteristic laugh. I stare and mutter, "Now that is a miracle."

She hears and gives me one of her I'm-going-to-kill-you-in-your-sleep looks. I hear Kai and Elida scramble into the wall even more. I start busting a gut.

Lightning stares at me and says, "What's so funny?"

I tell her, "I haven't been in Cocoon for a while. I forgot how Pulse-stricken the people are here."

She nods and Elida says,"What do you mean haven't been in Cocoon for a while?"

"Vacation on Pulse."

It looks like she's about to say say something, but a Alpha Behemoth roars at the front of the cave. Lightning says some choice words I haven't heard since Snow got drunk on beer one night.

Elida screams. I sigh. How far I've come.

I pull out my boomerang.

I hear Kai saying something like, "Please use magic. Please use magic," and Elida asking him if he wanted to see it when they killed them.

I snort. If they want a show they'll get a show. I switch to an attacking stance, ready for all hell to break loose.

I let loose some fire, lightning, and ice. Lightning's pounding at it with her sword. Even without magic, that girl could take down an Oretoise. I feel my energy replete and resume the attack.

Another five minutes and the thing's down. Unfortunately, five more come to take its place.


	5. The Ultimate Weapon

I shout to Lightning, "This isn't working! We need to bring out the Eidolons! I'll stay in and protect them!"

In reply Light puts her hand over her brand and the eidolon Odin appears. I still don't trust that thing.

I back into the cave and bring forth my crystal. I toss it to Kai and say, "Take a good look. It's the ultimate weapon. Try not to break it."

He looks at it and scoffs, "This little thing. Please. 50 gil says your wrong." Then he throws it on the ground and shatters it.

"There your ultimate weapon. Gone. Good riddance I say."

Elida, looking worried, says, "You just angered a Pulse l'Cie!"

I say, "Oh no! That was our only hope of salvation! Doomed! I say doomed!" Then I start laughing. What is up with me laughing lately? Maybe the l'Cie thing finally got to me.

Already, Alexander is starting to materialize and all Kai can do is stare.

"You owe me 50 gil."

With Alexander stationed I can finally talk to my friends. Or ex-friends. I do not know.

"So," I say, "I overheard Kai wanted to see some magic."

He just looks at me.

"Anyone thirsty?"

Elida raises her hand.

"Alright then, cup your palms."

She looks quizzically at me. All I do is nod. She cups her hands. I put my hand over it and let it rain. Is all these people can do is stare? She keeps looking at her hand and at me.

"Go on drink it. It's not poison."

She puts her hands to her lips and sips. She looks surprised and keeps sipping. And sipping. And sipping. I think she's waiting for it to run out, but I keep putting more in. All of a sudden, he moves her hands quickly and _voila_ a magical floating bubble.

"What else can you do?"

"I can summon Alexander, create fire, ice water, wind, and an earthquake at will, I can bring a still warm body back to life, I can make someone extremely fast etc. Shall I go on?"  
They both shake their heads. It reminds me of old times. Times before l'Cie. I remember Me and Mom's trip to Bodhum.


	6. Author's Note

How are you guys enjoying the story so far? I got the idea from the little girl's terror in Palumpolum. Just so ya' know the next five chapters were NOT created by me. They are taken from Final Fantasy 13's Short Novella, entitled Friends. Just so ya' know!


	7. Remembrance part a

Calls in the evening always unpleasant things. Always, without exception.  
Having only lived for fourteen years, it was probably a little early to be deciding that something had no exceptions at all. But it's true today, Hope thought, looking at his mother's back.  
"No, no it's alright. Don't worry about it. We're having fun just the two of us. Bodhum is a nice place. We've had no problems with the hotel, and the ocean is beautiful."  
It was his father on the phone. Hope knew it the moment the phone rang. And he could guess why his father was calling. After all, it was evening. He could see from the window beyond his mother's shoulder that the day was fading.  
"I... I see. I understand. That's too bad..."  
Bingo, Hope thought. He could tell from the way his mother's voice sank that he was right. They called him in to work, he was too busy, he wouldn't be able to leave tomorrow. That's probably what he was saying.  
This was supposed to be a vacation for the three of them. Ten days at a beach resort, staying in a condo. His mother had planned it half a year in advance. Just to have fun and relax, not to see anything in particular. Or that's what she said. Let's have fun, just the three of us. It's been such a long time.  
But he knew the real meaning behind his mother's words. With her husband being so busy, and her son being at that difficult age, a "teenager", they were growing farther and farther apart. She didn't know what to do. So she probably thought that if they were somewhere different, somewhere that wasn't at home, that they would finally have time to talk. Or at least, that's what most people would think.  
Hope hadn't been looking forward to the vacation. He didn't know what he'd have to say to his father, seeing each other for ten whole days. He had gotten irritated just thinking about it. So he had felt relieved when he heard his father had go on a business trip. He said he would meet up with them later, but Hope didn't believe him. Probably at the last minute there would be a meeting he had to go to, he'd say someone important from Sanctum would be there, making excuses. It was always like that. No matter how small the promise, his father would always throw it away for his work.  
"It's okay, don't worry about it. We don't even have time to get bored there is so much to do."  
His mother forced her voice into a happier tone. Like always. He wanted to tell her that she didn't have to try so hard to be happy. Whenever his father would break his promises, she never blamed him for it. She always made up reasons and excuses. Your father's work is hard, she would say. He has a lot of responsibility. Important people in the Sanctum trust him. He's working hard for everyone. It was so sad how she would never say a word against him. But no matter how much effort she would put into defending him, his father never had a word of thanks for her.  
My father doesn't care, Hope thought. About how nice she is to him... or about me.  
He couldn't be sure whether his mother really didn't realize this, or if she was just pretending that she didn't. It didn't matter either way. My father is the one who's wrong, Hope said to himself.  
"Tomorrow? We're going to Euride like we planned. Yes, they've already finished cleaning up after that accident."  
There had been a huge accident at the energy plant in Euride Gorge three days ago. Everything had been shut down in the uproar, and tours of the plant had been put on hold until today. They had just finished rebuilding, and they had let us know just a moment ago that they would be letting in visitors tomorrow.  
"Everything will be fine. I mean the fal'Cie decided that it was safe, that should be good enough for taking a field trip right? You're such a worrier."  
Like he would worry, Hope thought. Of course, he didn't say so aloud. He knew that it would just make his mother sad. His head knew it, but his heart...  
"He's not coming is he? Of course." The harsh words slipped out of his mouth just as she hung up the phone.  
"There's nothing he can do about it. There was that accident in Euride you know, everyone inside Sanctum was in a panic about it, and that affected your father's job too. Oh! But he said he'd be here in time for the fireworks festival."  
Again with the promises he'll never keep. He should just not make them to begin with.  
"Whatever, let's not talk about him. I mean, whether he's here or at home he'd just say the same things anyway. How's school? Are you studying? Nothing else. He's like a..."  
Like a voice recorder, Hope was going to say. But he saw the sadness in his mother's eyes.  
"Oh yeah, you were saying you wanted me to help you with something?" He said, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. It's stupid to get all worked up about someone who isn't even here.  
"Oh yes, right. Would you wash these vegetables for me?"  
"Vegetables?"  
"Well, since we're staying in a condo that actually comes with a kitchen, it seems such a waste to keep eating out every day."  
She took out a large paper package. It smelled of dirt. Not the kind of smell you'd find in a grocery store.  
"When did you have the chance to buy this stuff?"  
"This morning, a local person gave them to me."  
Oh yeah, this morning mom woke up early, Hope thought. He had fallen asleep again, and she'd gone out for a walk. That must have been when she bought them.  
"They told me this is ingredients they use in their cafe. There are some things they get from the market, but they told me they grow their own vegetables. Here, wash these."  
His mother separated the vegetables, giving Hope lumpy potato-looking things. His mother held some bug eaten leaves. You would never find these in any grocery store in Palumpolum. Or anywhere else.  
"You're always getting into the strangest things." Hope said, sighing, and turned on the water. It wasn't like this was the first time his mother did something like this.  
"But it was just so interesting! The fieldworker was a very fashionable, good-looking young man you know. It's only when I learned he worked at a cafe that it didn't seem odd. And then there was a shorter boy, I think he might have been a bit older than you."  
"It's still strange, choosing to work in a field."  
"Really? They looked like they were having fun."  
Someone who supports themselves... Hope couldn't really understand it. There were food production plants that were under the careful management of the fal'Cie which produced large amounts of high quality food that was sold cheaply. He didn't know how much vegetable seeds cost, but if they were anything like the flower seeds he had seen in garden supply stores then it was possible that growing your own food wasn't any cheaper.  
"And then this girl came, and they started talking, and then he ended up just giving me the vegetables."  
"You're shameless."  
"Mom's are tough."  
She laughed, and started washing the bug eaten leaves. It was as if she had completely forgotten the phone call just a few minutes ago. If only we had gone on vacation without him from the start, Hope thought. Then she wouldn't worry so much, and would just be able to laugh like this. That's why I hate him. I hate calls in the evening...  
He scrubbed hard at the dirt on the vegetables. If only I could wash away everything else so easily, he thought.


	8. Remembrance part b

Euride Canyon was a very popular tourist spot. The energy plant there had a route set up for field trips and visitors, and it was said that the surrounding scenery was some of the most beautiful in all Cocoon.  
The fact that you could see fal'Cie Kujata, the fal'Cie in charge of the plant, didn't hurt either. The fal'Cie are important, supporting the people of Cocoon's way of life, but it was not often that regular people got to see them so close.  
That is why many of the people who visit the Coastal City of Bodhum also take a trip out to Euride Canyon. You could see the latest equipment inside the plant, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and then see a fal'Cie. It was those three things together that made this place such a draw for visitors.  
Beside the plant there was a plaza with gift shops lined up, waiting for the tourists. Children on school field trips would meet there in groups, and you could always hear their excited voices. That's the Euride Gorge everyone knew. But today was different.  
"It's completely different from those videos..." Hope murmured. They had finally arrived in Euride. The plaza was closed off, with tape stretched across the entrance. Armored soldiers were on guard. There were no places selling food and drink, no places selling balloons.  
"It was a pretty big accident. I can't believe there are more soldiers here than tourists."  
His mother seemed to be having fun, not bothered by any of it, but she couldn't hide her surprise at how heavily guarded the place was.  
"It must be hard for those soldiers from Bodhum. And they'll be busy with the fireworks festival soon too."  
"No, that's not their uniform, it's PSICOMs... I think. But those people over there are regular soldiers."  
"Really?"  
"I think so. I saw it in a picture that Kai showed me once."  
Kai's dream was to become an airship pilot for the army when he grew up, so he knew a lot about it. If Kai were here he would know each type of gun that the soldiers were carrying. Hope hadn't seen Kai for nearly three years. He had moved because of his parent's job. Even though it was just to the next town over, their school was different, so they hadn't really spoken much. At first they had called and mailed each other, but that grew gradually less and less...  
"Hey, isn't that the same pet shop we saw in Bodhum?"  
Hope stopped his train of thought to look at where his mother was pointing. The familiar logo was spread across the closed shutter in front of the store.  
"Isn't that the place that was selling those baby chocobos?"  
"Yes that one, they had said that their store in Euride was all sold out... I can't believe all that happened here."  
That was on the day they had arrived in Bodhum. After checking into their condo, his mother had said she wanted to look around the shopping mall. Who would have thought then that an accident would happen in Euride.  
Some children ran passed Hope. They must be on a field trip today today, he thought. No, wait, all schools are on vacation right now, so there's probably just some sort of special event for children.  
"Hurry up! Look, we're already late."  
There's a girl like that in every class, one who always tries to get everyone to obey the rules. There had been one in Hope's class. There was one now. It was probably impossible for one not to be in a class. Just like a Cocoon without a fal'Cie was impossible.  
"... then I went on that nature field trip."  
"Oh, that one in Sunleth?"  
"Yes, that one."  
He turned at the voice. The girl spoke with pride. She must be talking about the Sanctum's nature observational field trip, Hope thought. The Sunleth Waterscape is one of Cocoon's few nature preserves. Since it is maintained for ecological research, citizens are not usually allowed inside. The only time they are is when the Sanctum has observational trips. They have the trips several times a year, and mostly only let school or other groups participate. The ones who get to go are chosen by lottery, and even if you apply for a trip you most likely won't be chosen.  
Only lucky kids get to go to Sunleth. It was no wonder that girl was boasting about it. Kai probably boasted about it at his new school, saying that he went on the nature field trip at his old school.  
"What's wrong Hope?"  
His mother had walked a bit ahead of him. She stopped, and looked back.  
"No, just these kids that passed by were talking about Sunleth. I was thinking about it."  
"Oh right, your school won the lottery on that didn't they? Was that five years ago?"  
"Six."  
When Kai was still there, and Elida. The three of them had always been together. At Sunleth they had been together. He remembered running on the path behind them. He wondered if they still remembered the adventure they had there.


	9. Remembrance part c

Inside the airship everyone raised their voices in excitement. Below them shards of light scattered across the surface of the lake, glittering. Everything was colored in various shades of green. They had just passed over the residential area of the Sunleth Waterscape, which was next to the largest natural forest in all of Cocoon.  
"Is that Lake Bresha?"  
"Hey, what's that big tree over there?"  
"Is that a mountain?"  
The voices of the children were so loud it almost seemed they would break the windows of the airship.  
"Alright, would everyone please be quiet!"  
Their teachers voice echoed across theirs. After ten years of doing this the teacher didn't blink an eye, but the airship staff were looking askance at the children. This airship usually only took on passengers that could pay their high price. Which means usually they would only see members of Sanctum on important business. Watching over children was out of their area of expertise.  
The nature preserve was in an area that could only be reached by a special access point, for which they hired the latest civilian vessels. The result of which was that the the staff of the airship only had to deal with it a couple times a year, and were unused to it.  
The airship gradually dropped altitude, and Lake Bresha grew closer. The surface of the lake filled the view from the windows, and the children started talking excitedly again. Their teacher clapped her hands and raised her voice "Pay attention!" and everyone quieted.  
"The airship will be landing soon. We will not be landing beside the lake, and there is only a temporary landing facility set up. Please take care not to run about. If you understand please raise your hand."  
Okay! Everyone said, raising their hands as one. Hope heard a voice beside him say "Oh wow..." It was Kai. Hope kept his hand raised and asked him quietly:  
"What is it?"  
"It's really hard to land somewhere that doesn't have a landing strip."  
"Oh?"  
"And this airship is huge, only a specialist pilot could land this here."  
Hope didn't really know what he was talking about. Kai wanted to be an army pilot when he grew up, so he knew all about that sort of thing, but Hope knew nothing. But if Kai said the pilot was amazing, it must be true.  
"What are you two talking about?" Elida said. She was standing beside Kai, leaning over him.  
"You're being loud." Kai frowned at her. Elida was the best singer in the class, but she also had the loudest voice.  
They had met during the opening ceremonies when they had first entered elementary school. The teachers had sat them together. They sat together in class as well, and the three of them became close. They were always doing stuff together.  
Their interests, likes and personalities were completely different, but sometimes a external closeness matters more than an internal one. They lived close by each other, and often went home from school together. Both Hope and Elida were the only children in their family, but Kai had a little brother who was three years younger. His name was Hal, and the four of them often played together. Year after year, they always ended up in the same class. Though they weren't always seated together, during trips and events like this one they always got together.  
"He says the airship's pilot is really amazing." Hope leaned on Elida to whisper in her ear.  
"Amazing? What is?" Elida tilted her head. Kai was about to give a detailed explanation, when the teacher ran over.  
"Hey, you over there! Stop talking and lower your hands."  
Only the three of them still had their hands raised in the air. They quickly dropped their hands in embarrassment and everyone laughed.  
"It's all your fault you know!" Elida said, pouting. That's when the scenery outside suddenly stopped. He hadn't even felt the slightest tremor as the ship landed. Hope didn't know anything about airships, but even he could tell that the pilot was good.  
"See, pretty good huh?" Kai said, as if he were the one who landed the ship.

The first place the children looked at as they got off the airship was what was beneath their feet. They had never felt anything like it before. In Palumpolum there were streets everywhere. Even in parks there were few places where the earth was exposed. They were surprised at the strange feeling underneath their feet, but when they got a good look around they became more surprised at what they saw. Grass and trees weren't usual, but they were always in planters or surrounded by rocks. They had never really seen so many green things like they could here.  
"Alright, pay attention everyone! Does anyone remember the field trip rules we learned yesterday?"  
Everyone raised their hands.  
"Okay, then what are the three "don'ts", let's everyone say it together!"  
"Don't run, don't play around, don't push."  
"Very good! It's different here than it is in the city. It's easy to slip so you shouldn't run. The monsters here are usually quiet, but if you yell or make loud noises it will surprise them and they might attack you. So let's be very quiet, okay?"  
They had gone over this several times since they found out they had been chosen to go. They all knew just telling people to be quiet probably wouldn't do anything, so they drummed it into their heads. Soldiers had already driven the most dangerous monsters away from the path they would be taking. The only ones left were the quietest and gentlest monsters, and even they were gently dissuaded from coming near the visitors.  
Doing this took a lot more time than simply killing all the monsters. But in Sunleth they were studying the monsters, so they couldn't kill them. Hope had heard about it from his father.  
"And there is one more important thing you must remember. There are a lot of ravines and cliffs here, and it is very dangerous. Today they have platforms and ropes set up for us, but only in certain areas. Never go outside of the observation area! These researchers will be guiding us, so please listen to everything they say. Everyone understand?"  
Everyone raised their hand, and Hope looked over to the path they would be taking. Through the dense trees he could see steep craggy cliffs and sharp rocks. He felt a bit nervous about walking in a place that was "very dangerous."  
According to the plan, they would go from Lake Bresha on through Rainbow Pass, and walk along the forest trail before turning back. Once they returned to the lakeside they would eat lunch and have some free time. Hope thought that only people that wanted to walk on the path should have to. If they didn't want to they should be able to stay there.  
The edge of Lake Bresha was beautiful. Flowers of various colors grew all around. Close by there were huge trees, the shade beneath them looked cool and quiet.  
Hope preferred playing indoors than being outside. He liked playing games at home, or going over to Kai's house to look at pictures of army weapons and machinery. But since both Kai and Elida liked playing outdoors, they only played inside on rainy days, or when Hal was feeling too sick to go outside.  
"Alright, now we'll be dividing you up by class. The path is narrow, so please form a single file line!"  
Every class had a researcher to guide them. Unlike the teachers, the researchers were not used to raising their voices. They each carried a small megaphone with them.  
The line of children moved slowly along. At just a bit less than a hundred people, the line was fairly long.  
"These flowers are so beautiful." Elida reached her hand out to a pale red flower, but Hope stopped her.  
"You can't. It says we aren't supposed to touch or pick any of the plants. They said there are even some that can give you a rash."  
"I know that. I was just going to take a picture." Elida said as she took out a toy camera from her pocket.  
"I wonder if mom would like a picture of a flower..."  
Hope took out his own toy camera. The cameras would send data automatically, and were an absolute must for events like these. Compared to normal cameras, the toy camera only had a little bit of space for data. Once you've filled up all of the memory on the camera, the data would be sent automatically to the nearest computer terminal. Then, within the same day the paper photos are sent to your house. The camera itself is cheap and meant to be used and thrown away, so it's perfect for children who might drop it or break it. And being able to use up all the space on the camera in a day makes it even better.  
Hope aimed his camera at the pale red flower. He also took a picture of the white flower next to it. It's thin petals scattered in the breeze. He took a picture of that too. I hope the pictures come out, he thought. There were flowers here that you'd never see in the city. And not just flowers. The monster he could see in the distance just added to Sunleth's charm.  
Hope was in a trance, clicking picture after picture. He hardly even noticed climbing up the hill.  
"Hey, don't you think the wind here has a sort of... strange smell?" Elida said to him. Hope had been noticing it too. Once they left the lakeside and started walking through the pass. He had smelled it then.  
"It smells like, ick, medicine." Kai sniffed the air and grimaced.  
"No, not like medicine. More like herbs?"  
"Yeah, it's kind of like the stuff gramps drinks."  
Probably hearing their conversation, the female researcher in front of them turned and and smiled.  
"That's the smell of green stuff. Of dirt and grass."  
All the children in the area exchanged glances. They had dirt in the city. They had flower pots, and other plants that grew out of the ground. But they had never smelled anything like this.  
"Untreated and unpurified dirt smells like this. And the plants that grow in it."  
Come to think of it, Hope thought, the flowers smelled different too. Not really different, just stronger. He had gotten just close enough to take a picture of them, but the sweet smell of the flowers had reached him. It had surprised him. He wondered if that was because of the dirt here.  
"Look! A monster!" Someone yelled. When he looked, he saw something crawling along the edge of a ravine. It was translucent, and squishy looking. What a strange monster.  
"That's a Vegetapudding. The improved breed is edible you know."  
Everyone raised their voices in shock and disbelief.  
"I don't think I'll tell you what it gets processed into. It would be so much trouble if some kids got disgusted and wouldn't eat it anymore." She winked jokingly.  
Their field trip was about to degrade into a discussion on what kind of food a Vegetapudding could possibly be, when they reached Rainbow Pass. The researcher probably had that planned from the beginning when she started talking about edible Vegetapuddings.  
When they reached the top of the pass, the view there erased all thoughts of monsters. A rainbow arched in the sky, and light shone down through cracks in the clouds. He heard the click of someone's camera. They must have just remembered they had one. That was the signal. Everyone grabbed their cameras and hurried to take a picture of the scene before them.  
"There are lots of beautiful places, so remember to save so space on your cameras."  
On those words the sound of clicking stopped. Hope just barely managed to stop himself. He had almost used all of his space up.  
"If only I could have brought another camera." Elida said sadly. Probably everyone was thinking the same thing. But the rule was that they could have only one camera per person.  
"Alright everyone, look over here please." The researcher was speaking through her megaphone. She must have waited until everyone was finished taking pictures to start her speech.  
"As everyone already knows, the weather in Cocoon is controlled by the fal'Cie. As a general rule, the fal'Cie do not tell humans what the weather schedule is going to be."  
But there are exceptions. For storms, lightning, strong wind and other bad weather the fal'Cie send notices to the Sanctum, and the Sanctum warns the citizens so they can prepare. The announcements from the fal'Cie are always correct, they never miss.  
Compare this to the so-called "weather forecast", where humans gather data on weather climate changes. They are usually quite accurate, but are still nothing but predictions and can occasionally be wrong.  
"Unlike the rest of Cocoon, the weather in Sunleth is controlled by it's own fal'Cie. This is because we are studying the effect rain, wind and other weather have on the plants and monsters."  
Elida raised her hand, wanting to ask a question.  
"Are there any monsters that dislike rain?"  
Elida hates rain. That's probably why she thought of that question.  
"Of course there are. But also, there are monsters that love the rain too."  
Elida made a face. She looked as though she wished she hadn't asked. Hope and Kai both had to stifle a laugh.  
"It's not on our tour today, but beyond that cliff there is a valley where we are keeping monsters that love rain and monsters that hate it. We are controlling the rain in that area and checking to see how the monsters react. That is also why you will often see a rainbow from this pass."  
Didn't dad say that it was light refracting off of water particles in the air that made rainbows? Hope thought to himself. I should ask him about the edible Vegetapuddings. He'd know.  
"Alright, let's head off to the next area. Up ahead is a place called "The Tree Shaded Path". There are a lot of unusual sunlight hating plants growing there. But it's very slippery, so be careful when you take pictures." That is all, the researcher said, flipping the switch on her microphone.  
They formed a line again and continued on down the path. The road from the lakeside to the top of Rainbow Pass had been a hill, but now it was a gentle slope downward. Despite that, it was more difficult to walk on. Hope had never known how slippery wet grass and dirt could be. The path was flat, with no rocks, but he nearly fell many times. When he did fall he became all covered in dirt. The information he had received about the field trip had said, "Bring shoes that are easy to walk in, and clothes that you don't mind getting dirty." Now he knew what that meant.  
Looking around, he was glad that he still had some space left on his toy camera. He forgot his fatigue as he snapped pictures of the soft light hitting the rocks, of the grass transparent as crystal.  
When they came to the end of the path, Hope took one last picture. The light indicating that the data was being sent blinked and then switched off. Now it was nothing but an empty box. As he stuffed it in his pocket, he felt insecure. Now he had nothing to do.  
Though it was the same path back, it seemed to become more difficult to walk on. His footsteps felt heavy.  
"Ugh, can't we go home now?" Hope said, complaining a little.  
"Seriously." Elida said, out of breath.  
"But once we get back to Lake Bresha we'll have free time!"  
Kai was the only one who seemed full of energy. Apparently falling down didn't bother him. His hands and clothes were covered in dirt.  
"Kai you need to be more careful. What if you hurt yourself?"  
He said he was fine, but quickly fell on his backside. Unfazed, he jumped up and continued walking.  
"If he says he's fine, then he's fine." Elida said, sighing.

After eating lunch and resting a bit, Hope felt his fatigue completely disappear. When he had returned to the lake shore he had thought he would never want to move again.  
"What should we do? We still have lots of time."  
Here they could run and yell all they wanted, they wouldn't get in trouble for it.  
"Let's climb that big tree over there. I want to take a picture from the top."  
"You haven't finished taking all of your pictures yet Kai? You usually take them all at once." Elida said, surprised. Hope could sense something bad happening, he tried to come between them before something happened.  
"We can't climb the trees or rocks. If you climbed that tree and fell, you'd die."  
Neither Kai nor Elida would be able to think about other things when they were excited about something. It was always up to Hope to try and stop them.  
"So how would you climb it? I don't think you can."  
"But I promise Hal. I told him I would take a really cool picture for him."  
Oh yeah, that's right, Hope thought, Hal had wanted to come on this trip. But Hal wasn't even in school yet. Kai had spent a long time trying to calm him down, trying to think of something to make up for him not being able to go. That's probably why he had promised he'd take a cool picture.  
"Then why didn't you take one on top of Rainbow Pass..."  
"I did. But it didn't seem enough. I took pictures of monsters too, but it didn't seem quite cool enough you know? So for my last picture I want to take it from the top of that tree."  
"But you can't. Not that tree."  
"You never know until you try." Kai said, putting his hand in his pocket. He frowned.  
"What's wrong?"  
Kai said nothing, checking his pocket on the other side. Hope felt relieved.  
"What? You didn't drop your camera did you?"  
He looked in his coat pocket, and in his bag. After looking everywhere he could, he finally gave up. Hope and Elida could tell what had happened just by looking at his face.  
"Well I'm sure it fell around here somewhere." Hope said.  
It has to be, everyone agreed. So they looked around they area, but came up with nothing.  
"Did you drop it on the path? You did keep falling over." Elida pointed to his dirty knees.  
"No, I had it with me when we came back. I was trying to decide whether or not to take a picture on the pass. I know I had it with me then."  
So it had to be somewhere between Rainbow Pass and the lakeside. But they couldn't get there anymore. When they came back the path was closed off again. The researchers wanted to keep outside interference to a minimum.  
"Hey Hope, does your camera have any space left on it?"  
Usually Hope would end up lending him his camera. Kai and Elida would always take pictures twice as fast as Hope would, and use up all their space. Hope thought that they should think a little bit more about the pictures they take, but when he told them that they just said that he thought too much. In the end his camera would end up having pictures from all three of them.  
But today was different.  
"Sorry, the data already sent."  
It was impossible to think too much about taking pictures here. The scenery in Sunleth was so beautiful. That made it even more strange that Kai wouldn't have finished taking pictures.  
"Me too. I used it all on Rainbow Pass." Elida said.  
Kai sighed.  
"Guess that's that then."  
"Don't worry, I'll show Hal my pictures too." Elida tried to make him feel better. "Hope will show him his pictures too. That should be okay, right? He'll see double the pictures. I'm sure he'll be happy with that."  
But the pictures would be arriving at their houses tonight. Hal would only get to see them tomorrow, after school. Hope thought of Hal. The four of them usually played together after school. It upset him that he would be the only one not going. He kept saying, "Why can't I go?"  
Hal would be so disappointed...  
No, they had to do it. They had to do it for Hal.  
"Let's go look for it."  
Kai and Elida both looked surprised.  
"It's not that far to Rainbow Pass. We'll just look around until free time is over."  
"But we're not supposed to go on the path."  
"It's okay, we'll just have to sneak in."  
They glanced at each other. They never thought Hope would say anything like this.  
"My dad said you should never break a promise, no matter how small."

He had also said that even if you've forgotten a promise, the other person will remember it. Kai could just say that it couldn't be helped and be done with it. But Hal would have been waiting excitedly all day for those pictures.  
"Let's go look for it." He said again. Even though Hal wasn't his age, he was a friend. Elida seemed to feel the same.  
"Yeah, we don't want Hal to be disappointed."  
It was decided.


	10. Remembrance part d

They couldn't go through the entrance to the main path. Researchers had begun their clean up of the area. They decided to take a side path. Whether it really was a side path or not they couldn't tell, but it looked like one.  
"We'll get there if we go this way, right?" Elida turned back, sounding worried.  
"Well the direction is right. If we keep going this way, we should find the main path..."  
They were only a short distance away from the shore, but the sounds of their classmates seemed terribly far away. Hope thought that maybe this wasn't the right way after all.  
"When we go back we should take the main path."  
"But if they catch us at the entrance they'll get angry at us."  
"Don't worry, by then they'll be finished cleaning up."  
"But the teachers might be watching."  
The forest around them was too quiet, so they felt they had to talk loudly about stupid things. When they were in a large group of people it didn't seem so bad, but now that it was just the three of them the quiet was frightening.  
"Hey look at that! It looks like some sort of fruit." Elida said brightly. She pointed up to a branch that was bent under the weight of several yellowish red fruits. It was larger than any fruit they had ever seen in the store.  
"I wonder if it's okay to eat?"  
"You can't pick them. Really, Elida, you'll grab just about anything."  
"I do not!"

"Well it is a very pretty color..."  
"I said it's not like that!" Elida was getting angry.  
"Hey... guys?" Kai cut into their argument. "Don't you think that color looks familiar? You know, the thing she said was... edible?"  
Then Hope noticed it too. That monster they had seen near Rainbow Pass, it had a very similar color. Hope remembered that it hadn't been too far away from the main path...  
Then the earth rose up in front of them, like a red wall. It was that monster. It's red translucent body swelled. A Vegetapudding, Hope thought, scared. His feet took off running before he realized it.  
"Aaah! It's following us!" Elida screamed, nearly in tears. Hope was the slowest of the three, and there was no time to look back. He just ran, moving his legs as hard as he could. If they left him behind it would all be over for him. He ran as long as his breath held out. He couldn't tell where they were running. The found a rock they could hide behind, and dove into it's protective shadow. His heart was beating so hard he felt as though it would jump up through his mouth.  
"It... it's not behind us..." Kai looked out from behind the boulder, then sat down in relief. Hope felt his legs go weak. He couldn't run another step.  
The three of them sat, breathing heavily. Hope felt a chill run down his body. If the ground had been slippery like it had been on the main path, or if one of them had tripped over something, who knows what might have happened. They were lucky the three of them managed to get away.  
"Hey, where... are we?"  
They had thought they were walking towards the main path. If it was the wrong direction, they could have just turned back and gone a different way. But they couldn't now.  
"This place seems a little... different."  
The gloomy trees that had surrounded them before were gone, and bare cliffs rose up on either side. The grass at their feet was sparse. It was a dry and desolate place.  
"Which way did we come from?"  
They had been so intent on getting behind the boulder that they hadn't even noticed which way they had ran. All they could see now were rocks and cliffs going in all directions.  
"Well the pass should be in whatever direction the rainbows are..."  
But the cliffs blocked their view. They could barely see the sky let alone rainbows.  
"I think it's this way."  
"No, no. It's this way."  
Kai and Elida pointed in completely opposite directions. Hope couldn't tell which of them might be right. They really had no idea which direction was which anymore.  
"Well... let's just keep walking then."  
"But you aren't supposed to go anywhere if you get lost."  
"Maybe in other places, but what if another monster attacks? We wouldn't be able to run away."  
The path here was craggy and uneven, there would be nothing they could do if they were attacked by a fast monster.  
"If we find a place where we can see everything, we should be able to see the lake. Then we'll know how to get back."  
"Right. We've just gotten a little bit off the path, if we could see the lake it would all work out." Kai agreed. Elida slowly nodded, still unconvinced.  
"Oh yeah, wait just a minute." Hope grabbed a sharp rock and carved an 'X' into the boulder. "Let's go right. If we're wrong we can always come back here. Then we can try going left."  
"Wow Hope. You're so smart!"  
"My dad taught me. He said if you're lost in a place you don't know, make sure you know how to get back to where you were."  
"Well, then your dad is smart." Elida laughed. Complimenting his dad made Hope feel happier than if she had complimented himself.  
"Let's hurry. They'll probably be leaving soon."  
The three of them nodded, and started off together. Even though it was noon the light in the narrow passage between the cliffs was dim. They walked without a sound. They were worried that their voices might carry to any monsters within earshot. Without anyone saying so, the three of them held hands. It made them feel stronger,somehow, walking along a path they didn't know.  
Parts of the cliff face glittered with blue. If they hadn't be lost, they would have thought the pale light beautiful. But now even that light seemed ominous. The air was warm, and a tepid wind blew through the crevice.  
Hope didn't know how far they had walked. The cliff face continued unfalteringly on either side. Then, in the distance, they saw something that looked like a machine. They looked at each other, nodding, and broke into a run. They thought they might be able to use it to send data or to call out. If it was anything like the ones they had at home, they would be able to contact their teachers. But as they closed in on it they could see it was nothing like a household machine. It didn't look like something children could use.  
"Let's just try pushing buttons."  
"We shouldn't. What if we broke it..." But before Hope could stop her, Elida touched the panel. It lit up.  
"See, we can figure this out." Elida said proudly. As soon as she said that the light on the panel went out again and the machine grew quiet.  
"Huh? That doesn't work? Oh well, I guess I'll just try doing it the way mom taught me..." Elida made a fist. Hope and Kai grabbed her arms on either side. Both of them knew what "doing it mom's way" entails.  
"No way! If you do that it will break!"  
"Only your mom could make things work by hitting them!"  
Elida looked unhappy but relaxed her hands.  
"Well then what should we do?"  
"Let's walk a bit farther. If there's a machine here then that means people should be close by."  
The path was still difficult, uneven and rocky, but the hope that there was someone nearby gave them the energy to go on.  
"Hey, what do you think this is?"  
They had just come out on the other side of a tunnel, when Hope saw a strange thing floating just in front of his face. It was a glowing ball, just about the size of a human head. It look as though it were made of water, and it wobbled in the air in front of them.  
"Well, it's not a monster, it isn't attacking us."  
"We've told you not to touch things!" Hope and Kai screamed together. But they were too late. Elida touched the glowing ball with her palm. The wind grew cold, and the sky grew dark. Droplets of water fell down on them, and then in a rush it changed to a whole downpour of rain. Now they knew what that ball was. It was a rain control device.  
They ran underneath the tunnel. It was the only place they could escape from the rain.  
"Well, at least now we know which direction we're going. They said there was some rain thing nearby Rainbow Pass right? So we know that the pass is just on the other side of these cliffs."  
"That's nice and all, but what'll we do about this rain?"  
Hope was going to stop the two of them from arguing, but then he remembered. When they were on Rainbow Pass, the thing the researcher had been talking about... 'There are monsters that love the rain too.' And this place is meant for studying those monsters...  
I have to stop the rain, Hope thought, and he ran out from underneath the rocks. But that was as far as he got. He stopped, then stepped back a pace. Right in front of him was a yellow frog-looking monster. Behind it were more of the same in various colors. They had sharp claws at the ends their webbed forelegs. His whole body grew cold looking at them.  
He tried to run but tripped over his own feet, landing on his back. He knew he had to run but he couldn't make himself stand. Behind him he heard a scream. There were monsters near Elida too. She was the loudest person in their class, and her scream was earsplitting. Hope thought somewhere in the back of his mind that maybe it would surprise the monsters and they'd run.  
For a moment the monsters stopped moving. But no monster would ever run at the scream of a child. They started creeping closer. He could see sharp teeth in their open mouths. They're going to eat me, he thought.  
Hope squeezed his eyes shut, and curled into a ball. But an attack from the sharp teeth and nails never came. Shaking, he slowly opened his eyes. The rain had stopped. The monsters were slowly moving away. Someone had used the rain control device and stopped the rain.  
"The fal'Cie here controls the rain..."  
Perhaps it was the fal'Cie who had saved them. He then heard Elida's scream.  
"Look! It's the airship!"  
Kai yelled. They could see the airship through the crack in the cliffs. Maybe it was searching for them. It was stopped in midair, hovering. The fal'Cie must have called the airship too, Hope thought. Kai dashed out from underneath the rock, waving his hands in the air and yelling.  
"Can you stand?" Elida grabbed his hand and helped him stand. He looked around, but didn't see any researchers or anything that might be a fal'Cie.  
"Hope, hurry!"  
He nodded and ran after Kai and Elida, waving his hands and yelling at the airship.

Once they were on the ship, they were taken to a separate room and questioned about what happened. They got a lecture from their teacher about how the monsters they ran into in Sunleth could have hurt them. They hadn't expected anything less.  
Now that they were back on the ship, Kai miraculously had his toy camera returned to him. A researcher had found it when they were doing their clean up of the path, and brought it back to the airship. They hadn't needed to go looking for it after all. They should have just waited until free time was over.  
I never should have said we should go looking for it, Hope thought, feeling regret. He didn't know what Kai and Elida were thinking, but they didn't seem angry with him.  
"Did the fal'Cie stop the rain?" Elida asked their teacher. She must have had the same thought that Hope had. The fal'Cie is the only one who could have stopped the rain like that.  
"It was probably a researcher who controlled it from somewhere far away, but most likely it was a fal'Cie who made the decision to stop the rain generator."  
It wasn't the fal'Cie who called the airship either. It was the panel that Elida had touched. A researcher had noticed some strange activity coming from a machine in this area, and realized that someone had intruded into "Rain Valley".  
"They said that it's really difficult to land there. If the pilot wasn't so good, you probably would have still been wandering around lost in that canyon. We should go and thank the pilot later."  
Finally they were allowed to go back to their seats.  
"Kai, uh..." Sorry I got us in trouble, Hope wanted to say.  
"That was really cool." Kai laughed, slapping Hope on the back. Hope nodded back and smiled.  
"Kai! Take out your camera!" Elida pointed out the window. It was already evening. Many points of light were scattered below them in the fading sunlight. It was the lights of the Sunleth Waterscape's airship runway. Kai hurried to take the picture. Finally all the space on the camera was used up, and the light indicating that the data was sending came on. The picture that Kai had promised to take for Hal, that final picture, was a night view of Sunleth.


	11. Remembrance part e

No matter how small the promise you shouldn't break it... huh...  
Hope reflected on the words the memory brought. I believed in those words, he thought. I always believed in them. Then even my father, the very man who taught them to me, forgot them.  
No, his father probably still follows them to the letter. Just not when it concerns Hope or his mother. If it's his work he'll go running, anytime day or night. He'll even forget to eat, locked away in his study. The way his father is now, nothing is more important, nothing takes more precedence, than work.  
His father no longer remember promises made with his family. He didn't even listen to them anymore. When was the last time Hope bothered to start a conversation with him? A long time ago. What did I want to talk about, he wondered, I've even forgotten what it was. His father had said "Sorry, I can't now, we can talk about it later." Now the only thing Hope could remember was how his father had just brushed him aside. He remembered it as if it were yesterday. When his father had left, he finally realized something. It didn't matter what he expected, what he'd hope for, there was nothing he could do.  
"It's too bad everything has been closed off, but at least we were able to see fal'Cie Kujata."  
His mother's words brought him back to himself. They had just seen the fal'Cie of the energy plant, and were heading back to the entrance. He couldn't make peace with his thoughts, but looked away and feigned disinterest.  
"This trip seemed too short."  
"Half of the plant was closed off. It really couldn't be helped you know."  
The accident that happened at Euride was far more serious than the reports had let on. You could tell just by coming here.  
"I wonder if the fal'Cie in Sunleth was like that one."  
"Oh right, you went there during that nature field trip. You didn't meet the fal'Cie?"  
"Nope. They told us about how it controls the weather, but the only thing we saw were monsters."  
"Oh yes, I remember. You were attack by those monsters and got a fever. I was so worried."  
Maybe it was because he had encountered monsters twice during his time at Sunleth, but on their trip home Hope had suddenly fallen ill with a fever. Once they reached Palumpolum he was immediately taken to the emergency room. Because that happened he never got to thank the pilot of the airship. He had heard about it from Kai and Elida three days later.  
"He was super cool. He was this old guy who had hair like a bird's nest."  
"He said his son was just born a little while ago."  
"When I told him I wanted to become a pilot, he said 'Good luck!'"  
Kai couldn't stop talking about the pilot of that airship. After that, Kai never wavered in his dream to become a pilot. It made Hope a little jealous. Even Elida had a dream for what she wanted to do in the future. She said she wanted to become a singer, so she entered into an all girls school that had a special music program. That was a year ago.  
When I was younger I wanted to become like my father...  
Of course now his father is an example of the kind of person he doesn't want to become. No matter what kind of job he worked at, he didn't want to become the kind of person who will ignore those who are close to him. He would be happy so long as he never became the kind of person who would forget even the tiniest promise.  
"... right?"  
"Uh, what? Sorry, I wasn't listening."  
He resolved to stop thinking so much and actually listen. Not listening to people when they talk would be exactly what his father would do...  
"The people just passing by were just saying that during the accident a little boy was hurt very badly. They said it was so sad, they couldn't even look at his father who was with him."  
"I see..."  
"I hope he doesn't die. There is nothing sadder than when a child dies before their parent..."  
It doesn't matter whether the parent or the child goes first, Hope thought, when a family member dies it's still sad. For those who are left behind.  
But Hope didn't say so. Somehow he couldn't say it.  
"Um, Hope... are you... mad at your father?"  
"Not really."  
"He's just not really all that good at those sort of things you know, but there is a lot of trust in him, he doesn't want to do a bad job."  
When he looked at his mother's face, he felt the tight feeling in his chest relax.  
"I'm not mad. He'll be here for the fireworks festival right? Well then that's okay. I mean the fireworks are the main event after all."  
His mother's smile looked so happy. Maybe I should try talking with my father on the night of the festival, Hope thought. Of course he'll just say "How have you been?" or something like that, but if he could just see his mother smile like this, he didn't care...  
A masked soldier walked in front of them. The repairs after the accident should have already been complete, and the usual soldiers at the plant were the security force. Why were there so many PSICOM soldiers around? He felt like some strange, awful thing was crawling up his legs. His mother had a worried look on her face as they got closer to the plaza. Hope tried to make his voice bright an airy.  
"Come on, let's go back to Bodhum. We already saw that fal'Cie."  
Maybe his mother also wanted to shake off that strange feeling that he had felt, she replied in the same bright tone.  
"Okay, then let's go to the shopping mall."  
"Again?"  
He didn't want to think anymore about soldiers and the fal'Cie. He just wanted to think about having fun. Hmm, maybe when I return to Palumpolum I'll talk to Kai and Elida, Hope thought. If I tell him I saw a ton of soldiers in Euride Kai is sure to come running. Elida will probably want to hear more about the fireworks festival than the plant.  
It'll be three years since we've been together, Hope thought, thinking of his friends.  
His school vacation had only just begun.


	12. Royal Ripeness

I had only thought that would be a normal vacation. I would return home, Mom would be alive, and I wouldn't be a Pulse l'Cie. Everything would be normal. My friends wouldn't think I was a monster. _I wouldn't think I was a monster. _

Normal, what is it like? I muse in my head. I snort and say, "Normal is overrated."

Elida and Kai look at me and try to back away some more. I realize I had talked out loud.

"The walls still not going to move unless I tell it to."

"THEN TELL IT TO YOU MONSTER!" Elida screams at me.

Kai tells her to, "Calm down girl, it's just Hope."

"That, That, thing isn't Hope! It's a Pulse l'Cie you idiot!"  
"Ouch. Take a chill pill Elida," I say to her, but it looks like she got her point across to Kai. He looks uncomfortable.

"Besides, _It _doesn't even act like Hope. I bet it killed him or something and took his memories and is an impostor."

"Really, that's what your going with? I mean, full points for originality and all. But, if you want me to play along then I guess I can humor you," I clear my throat, put up a wall of darkness, and an illusion that makes me look like a Flan and say, "I am the all powerful Royal Ripeness of the Sunleth Waterscape. I am the one who attacked you years ago. ROAR!"

Elida and Kai scream. I release the magic and say, "You really fell for that?"

They nod shakily.

I hear a hearty laugh from outside that could only belong to one person. Er, l'Cie I mean. And let me tell you, it sure as Hell aint Lightning.


	13. All of Them

Snow. Honestly, a 6"7 giant isn't going to help my situation right now. And it does NOT help that he's a l'Cie. Well, I guess things _could _be worse. Not much though. At least not all of the l'Cie aren't here. That would be horrible. A mess. I would be toast.

"Thank the Maker! PSICOM's here! I bet he's killin' Lightning right now. I mean, look at that shadow!" Elida says in her in-your-face sorta' way.

"If he tried to kill Light, he sure wouldn't get to marry her sister."

Their faces blanched.

Kai looks at Alexander as though trying to see through him. He says, "That's one of your _friends!?"_

"Yup."

"Hope, let us in!" an all to cheery voice says.

"No, no, no this cannot be happening," I say weakly.

"What can't be happening," Kai asks nervously.

"Hey kid let us in! I hear Fang shout, definitely PO'd.

I groan. "Let 'em in Alexander."

"Thanks Hope. Oh, are these your friends?" Snow says, kneeling on the floor. "I didn't know you hung out with little guys like these, tough guy."

I groan even louder.

"What am I embarrassing you?"

"No. You're embarrassing yourself."

"What's the matter Hope?" Vanille says, "Everyone came to check on you guys after you left Eden with your friends. Oh, is that them? Hi there!"

` "She's a l'Cie?" Kai asks.

"In the flesh," I reply sulkily.

"Oh you told them? I'm sorry." Then she hugs me.

"No way! Elida! Isn't that the pilot who saved our life during our trip to the Sunleth Waterscape?" Kai says, looking at Sazh.

"HE'S A L'CIE?!" they say togeether.


	14. Me, Myself and I

It can be imagined that I didn't sleep well that night.

The only way I knew I had slept at all was because of the way Light and my friends treated me. Light had stood vigil. Kai and Elida were probably too scared to sleep.

By the way Light looked at me in the morning, I could tell I had cried, talked about Mom, or something equally embarrassing. Or all three. Who knows.

Light, Kai and Elida all know. Guess the joke's on me.

Kai and Elida are still scared but, have gotten over the fact that we aren't trying to kill them.

Still.

In their eyes I'm still a monster.

I'm still a l'Cie. And just like nothing will bring Mom back, nothing will make me human.

Nothing will make me Hope.


	15. Cold and Dark

A few mornings has passed and we still haven't moved from the cave. Ever since _everyone _showed up I had acted what Vanille called sulky.

When Snow had first showed up, and had introduced himself, and Kai and Elida had moved away, he said he might as well be an Amphisbaena.

I had been in what Mom might have called a teen mood and what I called a get-out-of-my-face-leave-me-alone-I-don't-need-my- mommy mood, so I made him look like one.

It took Lightning's anger to turn him back.

One morning, when we were having breakfast, Kai asked, "What was it like? When you became a l'Cie I mean."

My mouth fell open, and the piece of Behemoth meat I had been eating showed.

"Gross Hope. Close your mouth." Elida had said.

"Well, it was during the Purge, after my mom died. I followed Snow into the Vestige. After Serah turned to crystal, we saw the Pulse Fal'Cie, and Lightning, Sazh, and Snow attacked it. I tried to run but it blocked the exits. While it was dying it sent us to this place, where it was dark and cold, and there was this thing with bells, and it froze us and tendrils wrapped around and gave us the brand. It let us go and we fell. We saw this big, I mean, huge thing. We woke up at Lake Bresha."

"So it sounds like you were in the wrong place in the wrong time," said Elida.

"Weren't we all?"


	16. The End

One morning we woke up and Lightning told us that the cavalry was coming to protect Kai and Elida. I nodded, even though I was sad to see them go.

"Elida, I need to know, did anyone we know die in the Purge?"

"My friend, Alyssa Zydelle."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

"Yes it is."

The cavalry had come and taken them away. It was then I decided

to record exactly what happened from there on out. It was how they knew. It was how they knew, I became crystal, how Fang and Vanille saved Cocoon. And how I woke up.


End file.
